Ukrainian culture of the XVII–­XVIII centuries as a “window of opportunities” for modernization processes

The purpose of the article is to study Ukrainian culture of the middle of XVII — the end of XVIII centuries as a “window of opportunities” for full-fledged modernization, especially within the territorial and chronological boundaries of the newly emerged Ukrainian statehood — the Hetmanate. The metodology. In the article we used the theory of classic modernization as the transition of a certain society from the traditional, agrarian stage of development to industrial one due to complex, profound changes in all spheres of public life and culture. Based on the structural-systemic approach the main manifestations of opportunities for classical modernization in the Ukrainian lands at the beginning of the period were identifed, and then based on the historical method the most important results of their evolution at the end of XVIII century were considered. By the method of comparative analysis, these results were compared with the achievements of European societies. The results. It was concluded that the scale and duration of the innovations at the end of the XVIII century were insufficient to make a real modernization of the Ukrainian culture and to establish the foundations of a new industrial society, compared to the center or the semi-periphery of the Western economic world system. Regressive tendencies in all spheres without exception mutually blocked the “window of opportunities”. The scientific novelty of this article is a contribution to the innovative vision of the historical development of Ukrainian culture as a number of opportunities for successful modernization lost in different periods. The practical significance. It was shown, that the failures of modernization processes for Ukrainian culture are equal to the failures of national liberation struggles.